Asakusa Shop Update

 

The Mokuhankan Asakusa shop is open on a normal six-day-a-week schedule: 10:00 ~ 5:30 daily (always closed Tuesdays) and are ready for your visit anytime! (Please note that we no longer hold the Print Parties, so can not take reservations for those ...)

 

Shipping Update

 

It has become very common for packages to be returned to us after being held at the destination delivery office for a short period. If your shipment included tracking, our system will send you the number, and you must follow that information, and when you see that the package is in your area, please contact the delivery company to keep in touch. Thank you for your cooperation ...

 

Here is the current situation for most areas where our customers reside:

Middle East: As you might expect, many services in the region are disrupted. At present, most carriers (Post Office, DHL, FedEX) are still accepting shipments, but it is possible that there may be delays (or returns).

Europe: After a period of extreme interruption, delivery to most European countries has fully recovered. Most shipments are moving between Japan and the destination, with the exception of the immediate war zone (Ukraine/Russia). Flights through the Middle East are of course heavily impacted, cascading delays into many other areas ...

France: France has now implemented new Customs rules that prohibit the use of Air Mail for any shipment containing 'goods'; the packages are returned to us in Japan. Please select a shipping method that involves tracking.

Oceania: The Post Office is accepting packages, and all of the private carriers have also resumed deliveries. (Please also note that the Australian postal system is not 'playing nice' with tracking information on trackable Small Packet shipments: we get tracking information up to the point where it is handed off to them, and nothing beyond that.)

Most Asian countries are accepting, and packages are flowing smoothly ...

Russia: As you might expect, all orders/subscriptions/shipments to Russia are suspended until further notice.

 

European import duties: Many countries have become much more strict in recent years about import duties on packages. Woodblock prints are actually not subject to 'duty' in most areas, but local taxes (V.A.T. etc.) are applicable in many cases. Your package may be stopped by the Customs agents in your country. The Japanese Post Office is currently building out an upgrade to their systems that will allow/force us to charge such taxes in our shopping cart, making subsequent shipping smooth and trouble-free, but this is still pending.

 

The current status information page (in English) maintained by the Japanese Post Office is here (.pdf).